In life, you cannot get around relationships. Regardless of where we go or what we do, there will be people involved. Whether it is school, work, church, or family, it is important that we know how to involve ourselves in healthy, functioning, and beneficial relationships. This is the premise of Pastor Van Moody’s new book “The People Factor; How Building Great Relationships and Ending Bad Ones Unlocks Your God-Given Purpose”. On this subject, Moody writes, “You have some kind of relationship with everyone you encounter. Some relationships are extremely personal and some are strictly professional. Some are casual and on-the-surface relationships, and some are intimate and deep. But every relationship you have influences your life. There are no neutral relationships. Each one lifts you up or weighs your down. It moves your forward or holds you back. It helps you or it hurts you.”

Moods begins the first section of his book by giving the reader ten relationship laws that govern all relationships regardless of the nature. These include the Laws of Being Real, Mutual Benefit, Agreement, Letting Go, Selectivity, Sacrifice, Against Secrets, True Value, Loyalty, and Constructive Transition. In each chapter, Moody goes into detail about how each law is fleshed out in our daily lives. Also, each chapter also has a Relationship Reminder section at the end that are simply bullet points that summarize the chapter. In addition, there are questions designed to dig deeper into the covered material in each chapter. In Section Two, Moody covers how to deal with unhealthy relationships by explaining what they look like and how to get out of them if necessary. In Section Three, Moody talks healthy relationships. He introduces the reader to what he calls the Vertical Factor. Speaking of God’s love, Moody writes, “This is the vertical aspect of relationship; it goes up and down, between God in heaven and us on earth.” Moody has a good book here. It is in-depth without being too much like a textbook. I highly recommend.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”